This invention relates to a drain pipe washing device for washing pipeline facilities such as drain pipes installed in apartment buildings and other buildings, and particularly to drive control operations for a washing hose used in a drain pipe washing device and to a washing hose storing device for storing the same.
Drain pipe washing devices have been provided conventionally wherein a high pressure hose (washing hose) is used for washing drain pipes and other pipeline facilities. In the forward end of the hose, which is a comparatively rigid hose that does not bend readily, such as a stainless steel hose, is provided a nozzle having injection holes for jetting high pressure water. The high pressure hose is inserted in a drain pipe so that the interior thereof is washed by high pressure water jetted from the injection holes in the nozzle.
With such a drain pipe washing device, a washing hose storing device is used that, in addition to compactly accommodating the high pressure hose when not in use, is also for extracting the high pressure hose, when it is used, into the drain pipe, and applying a turning drive thereto inside the drain pipe when washing that drain pipe.
This conventional washing hose storing device 1, as diagrammed in FIG. 8, is configured of a substantially cylindrically shaped (doughnut shaped) rotary housing 3 that accommodates a comparatively rigid high pressure hose (washing hose) 2 that does not readily bend by winding the hose on the inner peripheral surface 3a thereof, and a drive shaft 4 that rotatably supports the rotary housing 3. The drive shaft 4 is supported rotatably by a bearing 6 in a frame 5 configured of pipe and sheet material or the like.
A substantially cone-shaped cover 7 is provided in an opening 3b in the rotary housing 3 described above, and a extracting hole 8 for extracting the high pressure hose 2 is formed in the forward end of the cover 7, at a position in opposition to the rotary housing 3.
In the extracting hole 8 is screwed a lock bolt 9 for locking the extracting of the high pressure hose 2.
In the axial center of the drive shaft 4 described above, furthermore, is formed a washing liquid guide channel 4a for conducting the high pressure water constituting the washing liquid, and at the forward end thereof, the back end 2a of the high pressure hose 2 is connected through a hose connection joint 11. At the rearward end of the washing liquid guide channel 4a is connected, via a connecting hose joint 12, the forward end of a washing liquid supply hose 13 that conducts washing water supplied from a high pressure pump (not shown).
According to such a washing liquid guiding structure as this, the washing liquid (arrow) sent under pressure from a high pressure pump (not shown) is conducted from the washing liquid supply hose 13 to the washing liquid guide channel 4a in the drive shaft 4, and from there is conducted through the hose connection joint 11 into the high pressure hose 2.
At the forward end of the high pressure hose 2 described above, furthermore, is secured a commonly known nozzle 15 having injection holes 14 opened in the peripheral surface thereof at a prescribed pitch, and at the forward end of that nozzle 15 is connected a universal guide 16, also commonly known.
For the detailed structure of the nozzle 15 and guide 16, the reader is referred to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S62-163789 filed previously by the applicant.
The high pressure hose 2 described in the foregoing is configured by a stainless steel hose, for example, that is comparatively rigid and that does not readily bend. Therefore, when it is wound and accommodated inside the rotary housing 3, due to its own springiness whereby it tries to return to its natural linear shape, the high pressure hose 2 will be wound and accommodated in a condition where the hose 2 is in tight contact with the inner peripheral surface of the rotary housing 3.
Meanwhile, in the washing hose storing device 1 described in the foregoing, a driving device (not shown) is provided for driving the rotary housing 3 so that it turns, and follower means (a follower pulley or follower gear) 17 configuring a part thereof are secured between the rotary housing 3 and the bearing 6.
When a follower pulley is used as the follower means 17, moreover, the rotary housing 3 is turned by a driving device having a manual drive pulley (not shown), whereas, when a follower gear is used as the follower means 17, the rotary housing 3 is turned via a motor (not shown) and a drive gear secured to the drive shaft thereof.
When the rotary housing 3 is turned in this manner, the high pressure hose 2 also turns, following that turning, and, thereby, the nozzle 15 will turn inside the drain pipe and wash the inside of the drain pipe.
According to the washing hose storing device 1 described in the foregoing, when, as diagrammed in FIG. 9, the lock bolt 9 in the extracting hole 8 is loosened, and, thereafter, an operator inserts the nozzle 15 into a drain pipe 20, while pulling the high pressure hose 2 out from the extracting hole 8, as indicated by the arrow A, and also causes the rotary housing 3 to turn in one direction by drive means (not shown), the nozzle 15 will advance while turning in a spiral pattern inside the drain pipe 20, and, while that is happening, solidified waste material adhering to the inside of the drain pipe 20 will be stripped away by the high pressure water C jetted from the injection holes 14.
When the washing operation inside the drain pipe 20 is finished, the operator pulls the high pressure hose 2 back, as indicated by the arrow B, while turning the rotary housing 3 in the other direction, pushes it into the extracting hole 8, and thereby accommodates the high pressure hose 2 inside the rotary housing 3.
Now, based on the conventional washing hose storing device 1 described in the foregoing, when the operator pulls the high pressure hose 2 from the extracting hole 8 as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 9, part of that high pressure hose 2, due to its own springiness, strikes part of the opening 3b or extracting hole 8 in the rotary housing 3 with a strong force to constitute a load. As a consequence, it is difficult to extract the high pressure hose 2 smoothly from the extracting hole 8, which constitutes a difficulty.
Furthermore, when the operator pushes the high pressure hose 2 into the extracting hole 8, as indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 9, part of that high pressure hose 2 abuts against part of the inner peripheral surface 3a of the rotary housing 3 or part of the drive shaft 4, as diagrammed in FIG. 10, resulting in a large load. As a consequence, a difficulty arises in that the high pressure hose 2 cannot be accommodated smoothly inside the rotary housing 3.
Furthermore, in order to smoothly wind up the high pressure hose 2 on the inner peripheral surface 3a of the rotary housing 3 and accommodate it, the operation of pushing the high pressure hose 2 into the extracting hole 8 while turning the rotary housing 3 in one direction is necessary. For this reason, a difficulty arises in that, when turning the rotary housing 3 by a driving device, the operation of taking in the high pressure hose 2 by the operator is extremely troublesome.
When this operation is done by driving the rotary housing 3 to turn using a manually operated driving device, that difficulty becomes even more pronounced.
An object of the present invention, which was devised with the circumstances described in the foregoing in view, is to provide a washing hose storing device wherewith the operations of pulling out and taking in the washing hose are made easy.
In order to resolve the problems set forth in the foregoing, the present invention is a washing hose storing device in which a washing hose is wound up so as to be in tight contact with an inner peripheral surface of a substantially cylindrical rotary housing, and when the washing hose is to be used, the washing hose is pulled out from a extracting hole formed at a position in opposition to a center part of the rotary housing and when not in use, the washing hose is pulled back inside the extracting hole, wound up so as to be in tight contact with the inner peripheral surface of the rotary housing, and accommodated, wherein guide means for guiding the washing hose from inner peripheral surface of the rotary housing to the extracting hole is provided between the extracting hole and the center part of the rotary housing. Therefore, during the operations of pulling the washing hose out from the rotary housing and pulling it back, the washing hose will not strike other unnecessary parts of the rotary housing, and will not stop the advance thereof. Thus, the operations of pulling out and taking in the washing hose from and into the rotary housing are made extremely easy.